Electrical connectors connecting terminals together are widely used for power supply, grounding, control, or the like, and are used in a variety of devices and equipment, including industrial machinery and vehicles.
Such an electrical connector, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-523700A, has a lock arm for catching a mating connector. The lock arm secures the connector and the mating connector in a mating position. The lock arm of JP 2015-523700A is formed integrally with a housing of the electrical connector. At an end of the lock arm, an operation portion for unlocking protrudes in a direction of height from a main body of the lock arm.
The shape of the housing of the electrical connector depends on the shape and/or position of a member housed in the housing. The configuration and/or direction of movement of a mold part used in injection molding the housing is dictated by the shape of the housing. Therefore, the dimensions and/or shape of the lock arm formed integrally with the housing may be limited by the configuration and/or direction of movement of the mold part. In particular, the height of the operation portion for unlocking is commonly limited by the mold part.